# 井底之蛙
## Chinese

| | | warn; well | background; bottom; basebackground; bottom; base; (possessive part.); (subor. part.) | 's; him/her/it; this | frog |
| trad. (井底之蛙) | trad. (井底之蛙) | 井 | 底 | 之 | 蛙 |
| simp. $^#$(井底之蛙) | simp. $^#$(井底之蛙) | 井 | 底 | 之 | 蛙 |
| Literally: “a frog at the bottom of a well (who can only see a small part of the sky through the opening)”. ||||||

### Etymology

From Zhuangzi:
    井鼃不可以語於海者，拘於虛也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]井鼃不可以语于海者，拘于虚也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCEJǐng wā bù kěyǐ yù yú hǎi zhě, jū yú xū yě. [Pinyin]A frog in a well cannot be talked with about an ocean - it is confined to its own narrow place.
Note: 鼃 is an ancient character for frog. In modern times, it has often been replaced with 蛙 (wā).
* Frog in the well (English)

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): jǐngdǐzhīwā
    (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄥˇ ㄉㄧˇ ㄓ ㄨㄚ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): zeng$^2$ dai$^2$ zi$^1$ waa$^1$
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): chéng-té-chi-oa
    (Teochew, Peng'im): zên$^2$ doin$^2$ ze$^1$ ua$^1$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: jǐngdǐzhīwā [Phonetic: jíngdǐzhīwā]
*** Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄥˇ ㄉㄧˇ ㄓ ㄨㄚ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: jǐngdǐjhihwa
*** Wade–Giles: ching$^3$-ti$^3$-chih$^1$-wa$^1$
*** Yale: jǐng-dǐ-jr̄-wā
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiingdiijyua
*** Palladius: цзиндичжива (czindičživa)
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡ɕiŋ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ti²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ wä⁵⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: zeng$^2$ dai$^2$ zi$^1$ waa$^1$
*** Yale: jéng dái jī wā
*** Cantonese Pinyin: dzeng$^2$ dai$^2$ dzi$^1$ waa$^1$
*** Guangdong Romanization: zéng$^2$ dei$^2$ ji$^1$ wa$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sɛːŋ³⁵ tɐi̯³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ waː⁵⁵/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chéng-té-chi-oa
*** Tâi-lô: tsíng-té-tsi-ua
*** Phofsit Daibuun: zefngdefci'oaf
*** IPA (Xiamen): /t͡siɪŋ⁵³⁻⁴⁴ te⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡si⁴⁴⁻²² ua⁴⁴/
** (Teochew)
*** Peng'im: zên$^2$ doin$^2$ ze$^1$ ua$^1$
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tséⁿ tóiⁿ tsṳ ua
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sẽ⁵²⁻³⁵ tõĩ⁵² t͡sɯ³³⁻²³ ua³³/

### Idiom

井底之蛙
* a “frog in a well”, a person of very limited outlook and experience
    From: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, circa 14th century CE
    Rǔ nǎi jǐngdǐzhīwā, ān zhī xuán'ào hū! [Pinyin]
    You're (like) a frog at the bottom of a well (who can only see part of the sky), how would you know about anything that is profound!
    From: Cao Xueqin, Dream of the Red Chamber, mid-18th century CE
    Kě zhī wǒ jǐngdǐzhīwā, chéngrìjia zhǐ shuō xiànzài de zhè jǐ ge rén shì yǒuyīwú'èr de. [Pinyin]
    [You] can tell that I am a frog at the bottom of a well; all day, all [I] talk about is that these several people are so unique.

#### Synonyms

| Variety | Location | Words |
| Classical Chinese | Classical Chinese | 井蛙 |
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 井底之蛙, 井底蛙 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Taiwan | 井底之蛙 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Singapore | 井底之蛙 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | 井底之蛙 |
| Cantonese | Yangjiang | 井底蛙 |
| Hakka | Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 井肚蛤蟆, 井肚個蛤蟆, 山狗仔 |
| Hakka | Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 井肚蛤蟆, 井肚個蛤蟆, 山狗仔 |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 井肚蛤蟆, 井肚個蛤蟆, 山狗仔 |
| Hakka | Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 井肚蛤蟆, 井肚個蛤蟆, 山狗 |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 井肚蛤蟆, 井肚個蛤蟆, 山狗子 |
| Hakka | Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 井底𧊅子, 井底個𧊅子 |
| Southern Min | Xiamen | 涵空龜, 井底水雞 |
| Southern Min | Zhangzhou | 涵空龜 |
| Southern Min | Tainan | 涵空龜 |
| Southern Min | Jieyang | 井底水雞 |

#### Related terms

* 坐井觀天／坐井观天 (zuòjǐngguāntiān)

#### Descendants

* → Korean: 정저지와(井底之蛙) (jeongjeojiwa)
Others:
* → Japanese: (calque) 井(い)の中(なか)の蛙(かわず)大(たい)海(かい)を知(し)らず (i no naka no kawazu taikai o shirazu), 井(い)の中(なか)の蛙(かわず) (i no naka no kawazu), 井(せい)底(てい)の蛙(かわず) (seitei no kawazu) (calque)
* → Korean: 우물 안 개구리 (umul an gaeguri) (calque; more common than the Sino-Korean form)
* → Vietnamese: ếch ngồi đáy giếng (calque)

#### See also

* 夏蟲不可語冰／夏虫不可语冰 (xiàchóng bùkě yǔ bīng)

## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 井 | 底 | 之 | 蛙 |
| せい Grade: 4 | てい Grade: 4 | の Jinmeiyō | かわず Hyōgai |
| kan'on | kan'on | kun'yomi | kun'yomi |
For pronunciation and definitions of 井底之蛙 – see the following entry. :
| 【井底せいていの蛙かわず】 | [idiom] a person of very limited outlook and experience |
(This term, 井底之蛙, is an alternative spelling of the above term.) :